Shade-fixture.



F. J. BEHRLB.

SHADE FIXTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1a, 1913.

Patented Jan. 20, 1914.

UED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

FRANZ J. IBEHRLE, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHADE-FIXTURE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANZ J. BEHRLE, a subject of the Emperor ofGermany, and residing in the city of Pittsburgh, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new anduseful Improvements in Shade-Fixtures, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention comprises new and useful improvements in shade and curtainfixtures.

More particularly it relates to devices used for the support andmanipulation of shades or curtains of soft material, such as the shirredor Austrian shades which are frequently used in the large displaywindoWs of stores, or with" swinging or casement windows in schoolrooms,sun parlors, office buildings, etc.

The object in view is to provide convenient and satisfactory means forraising and lowering the shade, and for sliding the same laterally toretract or extend the shade as in the case of swinging or casementwindows.

In my invention, the shade depends from a plurality of shells in whichare mounted rotatable spools about which are wound the raising andlowering cords of the shade. Said spools are mounted onacominon rolleror pole and rotate therewith. Such pole may be a spring or I-Iartshorneroller if desired or may be rotatable in any manner now used inconnection with shade rollers. The spools are preferably slida-ble onsaid roller and a horizontal draw cord or cords are provided forextending or retracting the curtain laterally.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a broken rear elevation of ashade supported from a roller by my fixtures; Fig. 2 is a verticalsection of one of the fixtures taken along the line IIII in Fig. 3, theroller being also shown in section; Fig. 3 is a side view of one of thefixtures dismounted from the roller; Fig. 4 is a similar view of amodified form of fixture; Fig. 5 is a section of the same along the lineV-V in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a broken perspective of the shell of saidfixture.

The following is a detailed description of the drawings.

A re )resents the roller or rotatable pole which is supported above andspans the space to be covered by the shade. Upon roller A are mounted aplurality of fixtures B.

Specification of Letters Patent.

App1ication filed June 13. 1913.

Patented Jan. 20, 1914.

Serial No. 773,377.

C is the shade which is of soft material and which folds or plaits whenraised.

D and I) are the brackets in which the ends of roller A are j ournaled.

Each of the fixtures B is composed of an annular shell 1 having mountedto freely rotate therein a spool 2. The shells 1 are provided witheyelets 3 which are engaged by the hooks 3 fixed to the upper ends ofthe vertical tapes 4, sewed vertically at intervals to the shade.

5 are cords, one to each tape 4:, secured at their lower ends to thebottoms of said tapes and running up through the rings 6 attached atintervals to said tapes, and having their upper ends attached to thehook 7 of the spools 2, so that when said spools are rotated in onedirection, said cords 5 are wound up on their respective spools, raisingthe curtain by folding it in plaits, and when said spools are rotated inthe opposite direction, said cords are unwound and the curtain islowered or extended. The shells 1 are provided with slots 8 which permitthe cords 5 to pass in to be attached to the hooks 7 of said spools.

The shells 1, in the form of fixture illustrated in the first threefigures are provided with internal annular shouk ers 9 which form withthe side plates 10 of the spool 2 a raceway for the ball-bearings 11,thus enabling the spools to rotate freely within the shells, while theshells are stationary. The side plates 10 are shown threaded ontothehspool but may be made integral therewit The fixtures B may be slidinto place longitudinally of the roller A and means are provided forcausing said spools to rotate with said roller. As a convenient means tothat end I have shown the usual longitudinal undercut slot or groove 12provided in the roller A which may be engaged by the inwardly extendingshank of the hook 7, the head 13 of said hook being engaged in the slot12 and causing the spool 2 to revolve with the roller B. It is thus seenthat while the fixtures B are freely slidable upon the roller A, thespools 2 rotate with said rollers. It is therefore only necessary torotate the roller A in one direction to wind up the cords 5 and raisethe shade, and to rotate said roller in the other direction to unwindsaid cords and lower the shade.

The roller A may be of any type, such for instance, a spring orHartshorne roller or any other well known means for rotating said rollerconveniently may be used, as desired. The method of rotating the rolleris immaterial,

For the purpose of drawing the shade laterally over the window space orretracting the same to one side, I provide a pair of drawing cords E andE 14 are eyelets, two of which attached to each shell 1, one eyelet to aside and the series of eyelets on each side are linked together by aconnecting cord 15, as shown in Fig. 1. The eyelets of the front shellare connected by short cords 1G with the end of the drawing cord E whichextends horizontally across to the other end of the roller A and passesover a pulley 17 secured to the bracket D. A second drawing cord Epasses over an adjacent pulley 18 and extending horizontally across thewindow space passes up over a third pulley 19 mounted on bracket D andhas its end connected by short cords 20 to the eyelet 1 1 of the firstshell 1.

It is evident that when the shade is extended or drawn, as shown in Fig.1, a pull on cord E will draw the first fixture B at the left toward theright until it impinges on the second fixture when both of said fixtureswill slide toward the right until they strike the third fixture and soon until the shade has been retracted sufiiciently or all the fixturesare crowded together at the right hand end of the pole, the softmaterial of the shade being gathered or plaited in vertical folds. Apull on the cord E will reverse the movement of the fixtures and restorethe shade to its extended position shown in Fig. 1.

In Figs. 1, 5 and 6 T have shown a modified and cheaper form of fixturewherein the shell is formed of two semi-annular plates 1 and l hingedtogether at their tops by means of a rod 21 upon which are mounted thetwo small anti-friction rollers 22 which bear upon the side plates 10 ofthe spool 2. The bottom edges of the plates 1 and 1 are provided withadjacent twin eyelets 3 and 3 through both of which the hook 3 isinserted, thus holding the shell together. The plates 1 and 1 arepreferably provided with inwardly extending edge flanges 23 to hold thespool 2 in place.

It is thus evident that by the use of my invention the shades may beraised or lowered, drawn laterally or retracted, with ease andconvenience. The fixtures are inexpensive and present a sightlyappearance.

What I desire to claim is:

1. In combination with a shade provided with a raising and loweringcord, a fixture comprising a rotatable spool upon which said cord iswound and an annular shell in which said spool is mounted, the top edgeof the shade being attached to said shell, whereby when said spool isrotated within said shell the shade is raised or lowered substantiallyas described.

2. In combination with a shade provided with a raising and loweringcord, a fixture comprising a rotatable spool upon which said cord iswound and an annular shell in which said spool is mounted, the top edgeof the shade being attached to said shell and said shell being providedwith a slot through which said cord is led to be wound upon said spool,whereby when said spool is rotated within said shell the shade is raisedor lowered substantially as described.

3. In combination with a shade provided with raising and lowering cords,a plurality of fixtures each comprising a rotatable spool upon which oneof said cords is Wound and an annular shell in which said spool ismounted, the top edge of the shade being attached to said shells, and arotatable member upon which said spools are mounted to rotate therewith,for the purposes described.

4:. In combination with a shade provided with raising and loweringcords, a plurality of fixtures each comprising a rotatable spool uponwhich one of said cords is wound and an annular shell in which saidspool is mounted, the top edge of the shade being attached to saidshells, and a rotatable member upon which said spools are mounted, saidspools being rotatable with said member but slidable longitudinallythereof, for the purposes described.

5. In combination with a shade provided with raising and lowering cords,a plurality of fixtures each consisting of a shell to which the edge ofsaid shades is attached and a rotatable spool mounted in said shell, oneof said cords being secured to each of said spools, a roller upon whichsaid spools are slidably mounted and with which said spools rotate, andmeans for shifting said spools along said roller.

Signed at Pittsburgh, Penna, this 12th day of June 1918.

FRANZ J. BEHRLE.

Witnesses:

EDWARD A. LAWRENCE, A. W. FoRsY'rH.

Gopies oi this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of l'etento,

Washington, I). C.

